JEDDAH, 1 August 2006 — Saudi Arabia yesterday held Israel responsible for the massacres and war crimes being committed by the Jewish state against the people of Lebanon. It also reaffirmed that the Kingdom, with all its political and economic capabilities, would stand by the Lebanese people.
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, described the current Israeli military campaigns against the Lebanese and Palestinians as a total war and said that Riyadh would work with friendly countries to achieve an immediate cease-fire.
The Cabinet spelled out the Kingdom’s stance on events unfolding in the region and said, “Israel should take full moral, political and material responsibility for the massacres and war crimes it has committed against the Lebanese people as well as against Lebanese institutions and infrastructure.”
The Cabinet statement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency, stressed that Saudi Arabia would work for unifying the Arab and Islamic position against Israel and the parties that support the Jewish state. “We’ll continue our contacts with friendly countries that have denounced Israeli violations in Lebanon and work for achieving an immediate halt to military operations,” the Cabinet said, adding that Riyadh would seek the help of Russia, China and European countries in this regard.
“The Kingdom will also confront the ideology that aims at creating explosive situations in the region and creating divisions inside its countries as happened in Iraq and Palestine and which it is attempting to do in Lebanon,” the statement said.
King Abdullah told the Cabinet that his talks last week with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdallah of Jordan and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora focused on the situation in Palestine and Lebanon and how to confront “the total war being waged by Israel against the two brotherly countries.”
The Cabinet meeting reiterated the Kingdom’s support for Lebanon’s national unity and for the sovereignty of the Lebanese state and its official institutions. It also stated that Saudi Arabia would continue to support the Palestinian struggle for an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
King Abdullah commended the Saudi people for their good response to the telethon ordered by him to collect donations for the Lebanese people reeling under Israeli aggression. The telethon, which was held on Thursday, raised SR109 million and collected donations in kind for the Lebanese people. The king himself donated SR10 million to the fund-raising campaign while Crown Prince Sultan contributed SR5 million.
Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said the Cabinet meeting also approved the new social insurance law and decided to activate the role of the 13-member National Drug Combating Committee. It also approved the formation of a new fund to support family members of a drug addict undergoing treatment. The Cabinet instructed relevant authorities to sign agreements with Turkey to promote health and investment cooperation.
Speaking about the new insurance law, Madani said foreign women married to Saudis as well as children of Saudi widows married to foreign men would benefit from the law which has fixed the annual pension for the first beneficiary at SR9,400. For each additional member SR3,100 will be given but the total amount received by an eight-member family should not exceed SR31,100. The new law will be effective 90 days after its publication in the official gazette.
